If you are under 16, you may be concerned about talking to the doctor about sex, contraception or sexually transmitted diseases. This is our policy on confidentiality:
Doctors and health professionals have a duty of care and a duty of confidentiality to all patients, including under 16s.
We offer THE SAME confidentiality to all patients whether they are under 16 or not.
This means we treat anything you tell us in complete confidence. We will not tell anyone anything about you unless we think that you are in danger of coming to harm, for example:
- Someone is forcing you to have sex against your will
- Someone is hurting or harming you in another way
- Someone is taking advantage of their position (such as a youth worker or relative) to have sex with you
- We think that another young person may come to harm (for example a brother or sister)
We HARDLY EVER have to do this, even if what you are doing is against the law.
If, as a LAST RESORT, we decide to tell someone else, such as a social worker, police officer or parent, we will tell you exactly what we are going to do first.
If you want to know more about confidentiality, you can ask the nurse or doctor before you discuss your problems.
You can ask to read our confidentiality policy.
You can phone the Childrens Law Centre on 0131 667 6333